The present invention relates generally to a method of installing marble walls and, more particularly, is directed to a method of installing marble walls formed of a thin marble layers attached to backing panels.
In the aforementioned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 06/766,270, now Pat. No. 4,601,147 there is disclosed a novel system for assembling marble panels to a flat wall with accurate alignment. As disclosed therein, each marble panel is formed of a thin layer of marble secured to a backing or carrier panel. A groove is formed at one side edge of each backing panel, and a tongue is formed at the opposite side edge of each backing panel for insertion into a groove in an adjoining backing panel. This arrangement aids in the easy and accurate alignment of the side edges of the thin layers of marble in an abutting relation when the marble panels are assembled on a flat wall.
However, there is a problem with such a system, and in similar systems which use thin layers of marble. Specifically, the grains in each marble layer form a pattern on the front face thereof. When the marble panels are installed on the wall, the patterns on adjacent marble layers do not correspond with each other, clearly indicating that separate marble layers are being used, and more importantly, imparting a less than desirous appearance. This is particularly due to discontinuities between patterns of adjacent layers at the side edges thereof.